w THE Hard Rock Calling gig was planned as The Boss’s first UK festival appearance. In the end, he headlined Glastonbury the night before.

But don’t get the idea that Hyde Park played second fiddle. The July 28, 2009 show was a three-hour marathon during which Springsteen raided his back catalogue for fan favourites and rarities alike, with the E Street Band in gloriously unstoppable form.

Captured here in unfussy high definition is the full 26-song setlist all the way from the opening cover of Clash classic London Calling to a sunset Dancing In The Dark, plus bonus footage from Glasto and the Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

Highlights include Born To Run; a dusty Outlaw Pete; an emotional Jungleland; the singalong Waitin’ On A Sunny Day (during which a six year-old from the crowd offers guest vocals) and No Surrender (on which Gaslight Anthem’s Brian Fallon duets).

Springsteen changes the setlist as the gig progresses, taking requests scrawled on banners, and there’s a barnstorming American Land from the Seeger Sessions.

I was lucky to be there on the day, and amazingly this DVD does it justice. PC